Postgame Quotes: Darian DeVries Q&A following FISU America Games win over Peru

Indiana head coach Darian DeVries spoke to reporters on Tuesday after its FISU America Games win over Peru, the first group play matchup. Below is the full Q&A. Watch on Youtube! Hit that Subscribe button please! Q: In terms of like when you have an overwhelming talent advantage like you did, do you adjust your goals as the game goes on? You know, give things to the guys to kind of shoot for, or you know, are you just looking to kind of get working? Like what happens kind of as you see you obviously have a huge advantage here. DEVRIES: Yeah, the number one thing we talked about before the game was just making sure whatever the scoreboard says that we’re continuing to just work on the things that we’re prioritizing. And I thought the guys did a really good job of that, especially in the second half. I thought the first half, as it kind of went on, we started gambling, got a little aggressive and, you know, lacked a little discipline of what we would normally do. But I thought as the game went on, we really settled into some of the things that we want to establish, you know, on the defensive end. And I thought, you know, we really made things hard in that second half. So, and then the offensive rebounding, that was probably our second biggest thing we talked about was just making sure we continue to establish that type of effort that we got guys consistently going in the glass and going in the glass with force and creating those second and third chance opportunities. So, you know, I thought overall, you know, from start to finish, the guys did a really good job of staying focused and maintaining, you know, trying to, you know, work on the things that we thought were going to be important because this is an opportunity for us to play in the summertime when we want to make use of every opportunity we get. Q. Coach, thanks for the time. Just curious, obviously, when you have a game that’s this lopsided, what’s, and you mentioned kind of that sloppiness, the balance between, you know, trying to let guys have freedom and also kind of sticking to the principles, how difficult does that become when it? You know, it’s a 60 or 70 point game, it’s kind of easy to fall into those habits. And, you know, we couldn’t see the game throughout the entirety of it. So I’m just kind of curious from your perspective, maybe how you saw them react when they had that big of a lead, did they kind of stick to those principles? DEVRIES: You mean it wasn’t an HD back home? I thought the guys did a great job, to be honest with you. As you mentioned, sometimes when you get those leads, you know, guys just start to hunt and take bad shots and things. I thought our guys did a really good job of continuing to move the ball, share the ball, make plays for one another, and then defensively, you know, just stayed sound in what we were trying to do and allowed us to work on a few things, different things, not crazy noticeable, maybe on film, but just some switching and some trapping in the post, that type of stuff that, you know, we’ve been working on here throughout the summer. So just gave us a chance to do that as well. But overall, you know, really pleased just for the way the guys approached it and the way they finished out the game. Q. Coach, I have two questions. Coming out of the Canada game, you said you wanted to work on your communication, especially on defense. How do you feel like you improved that this game? And then you added Sam Alexis to the roster. What kind of lessons can he teach these guys after going through the Big Ten battles last year? DEVRIES: Yeah, I thought our communication was certainly better. And that’s going to be a process that, you know, takes a little bit longer. It’s just getting guys to really recognize the importance of communicating, especially at the defensive end. You know, great communicating teams can, you know, eliminate mistakes, you know, even when there is a potential for a breakdown. It allows guys to cover for each other, react a little bit better. And guys are starting to understand that it’s something that as this group has gone on over the summer, we saw it as something that maybe we’re not great at and we want to be the elite at it. So we’ll continue to make that a focus point for us. And adding Sam ,just gives us some more versatility without two of our other bigs, just to be able to sub a little bit more, also potentially slide eight into the four or some. So just so we have enough bodies to be able to do that. So we’ll look for some opportunities to do that as well. And just having his experience from last year, you know, being around the guys, so it’s a great opportunity for us to take advantage of him, you know, being able to participate and kind of provide some leadership, you know, from his knowledge of last year and going into this year for this group. Q. Yeah, Coach, I guess what everybody probably will want to know when they see Sam on the bench is whether or not there’s any talk or intentions of him pursuing a fifth year. DEVRIES: Yeah, right now, our intention is just to have that body. That’s why we brought him here is just to add to it. Again, like I said, we were originally we’re going to have to play six games in eight days. And we just didn’t think with the bodies that we had that it was going to be enough. So, you know, thankfully, Sam was able to do it. The timing worked out with him getting done with OKC on Sunday, and he was able to get here earlier this morning. So just, you know, it just helps us to take full advantage of this trip. Q. Yeah, Darren, I guess you talked before about balancing winning with team development.And obviously, in this case, the game was in hand. But as you look at this, how do you how do you anticipate, you know, playing all the guys and building that chemistry and still focused on winning? DEVIRES: Yeah, I think the hardest part when you’re doing events like this is you’re, you know, we’re only allowed to play 12 guys a night. So there’s going to be a couple guys every night that we’re not allowed to participate, but just with the rules that are in front. But overall, you know, it can be a little challenging just with rotations and things because you’re trying to get everybody some time, trying to give them reps, trying to give them experience. But at the same time, trying to say maybe some of those guys that are potential starters and giving them the opportunity to play together as well, because they’re all new to each other, too. So we want to be able to do a mixture of both, get the young guys their minutes, but also get some of those older vets a chance to play with one another in different types of situations. Q. Yeah, Coach, I’d love to ask about Vaughn Karvala, who obviously is a freshman, but really seems like he fits right in. And I’d love to ask what you think about his confidence, if he’s competing with confidence and sort of how he’s developing and progressing, which is potentially especially impressive because of his age. DEVIRES: Yeah, I think Vaughn’s done a great job. He’s really bought into doing the things we ask.He’s got great size, athleticism. He can really run. He’s skilled. And you got to see a little bit of all that in the game tonight. Well, maybe you didn’t. You know, it depends on how clear that view was. But he was aggressive attacking the glass. He, you know, caught a lob, you know, so he’s someone that’s just going to continue to get better and better, because I think there’s a lot there for him to continue to grow into. Make sure to follow and subscribe to all TheHoosier social media platforms so you never miss any of our content including X, Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Pocket Casts.